CN1839045A - Droplet configuration device and droplet configuration method - Google Patents

Abstract

A droplet configuration device and a droplet configuration method are provided. The droplet disposition device has: inkjet head (1); Substrate (13), accepts the droplet (2) that is ejected from inkjet head (1); 13) A device for irradiating or reflecting light; a position moving device (10) for controlling the relative position of the inkjet head (1) and the substrate (13); a control device (9) for spitting out the liquid from the inkjet head (1); The light-receiving element (6) for identifying the position of the inkjet head (1) is arranged behind the substrate (13) when viewed from the inkjet head (1); 13) Transparency to the extent that the irradiated light or reflected light enters the light receiving element (6); the light receiving element (6) detects the irradiated light or reflected light from the nozzle hole or its periphery to the substrate (13). Accordingly, even if the distance between the inkjet head and the substrate is short, the relative position between the inkjet head and the substrate can be accurately adjusted.

Description

Droplet configuration device and droplet configuration method

technical field

The present invention relates to a droplet placement device and a droplet placement method using an inkjet.

Background technique

In recent years, inkjet printers have been widely used as printing machines for characters and images, and are also used as manufacturing devices for electronic devices and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) chips. Here, the term "electronic device" refers to an element or an aggregate thereof that utilizes the flow and storage of electrons, performs calculations, stores and transmits information, displays, and the like. Examples thereof include electric circuits, wirings constituting them, electrodes, resistors, capacitors, semiconductor elements, and the like.

The outline of an inkjet printer and an example of electronic device manufacturing by the inkjet printer will be described below. The printing structure of an inkjet printer is to spit out several through holes (hereinafter referred to as "nozzle holes") with a diameter of tens of μm on a flat plate (hereinafter referred to as "nozzle plate") to printed characters such as paper. For picoliters of ink, the spit out ink is arranged at the specified position of the printed characters. In order to arrange the ink at a predetermined position on the recording medium, the positions of the nozzle plate and the printed characters are mechanically changed, and the ink is ejected while controlling their relative positions. In this way, a method of arranging a liquid (also referred to as a droplet) discharged from a nozzle hole of a nozzle plate onto a predetermined position on a substrate is called an inkjet method. In addition, a device having a mechanism for discharging liquid from nozzle holes is called an inkjet head. The inkjet head has a nozzle plate, nozzle holes penetrating the nozzle plate, a pressure chamber in contact with the surface of the nozzle plate opposite to the liquid discharge surface and leading to the nozzle holes, and a mechanism for generating pressure in the pressure chamber. Next, by applying pressure to the pressure chamber, the liquid held in the pressure chamber is discharged from the nozzle hole to the outside of the nozzle plate.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the entire inkjet printer. The inkjet printer 100 shown in FIG. 10 has an inkjet head 101 that performs recording using the piezoelectric effect of a piezoelectric element, and records on a recording medium 102 such as paper by impinging ink droplets ejected from the inkjet head on the recording medium 102 . The inkjet head is mounted on a carriage 104 arranged in the main scanning direction X, and reciprocates in the main scanning direction X in accordance with the reciprocating movement of the carriage 104 along the carriage shaft 103 . Furthermore, the inkjet printer has a plurality of rollers (moving mechanism) 105 that relatively move the recording medium in the sub-scanning direction Y perpendicular to the width direction (X direction) of the inkjet head 101 . An inkjet printer is composed of a nozzle plate having nozzle holes for ejecting ink, a drive section for ejecting ink from the nozzles, and a section for supplying ink to the nozzles.

11A-C show an example of the structure of the ink jet head. FIG. 11A is a sectional view of the nozzle hole 121 and its vicinity. The nozzle hole leads to a pressure chamber 113 on which a vibrating plate 112 and a piezoelectric element 111 are formed. The pressure chamber 113 is filled with ink, and the ink is supplied from the ink flow path 115 through the ink supply hole 114 . When a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 111 , the piezoelectric element 111 and the vibrating plate 112 bend, the pressure of the pressure chamber 113 increases, and ink is ejected from the nozzle 121 . The surface of the nozzle plate 116 is subjected to a hydrophobic treatment so that the ink 118 is ejected in a certain direction from the nozzle holes 121 . In order to increase the pressure of the pressure chamber 113, a method of generating air bubbles in the ink chamber (bubble jet (registered trademark) method) may be used. Fig. 11B is a schematic perspective view taken along line I-I of Fig. 11A. Here, only about two structures in the vicinity of the nozzle hole are shown, but actually a plurality of structures with the same structure are arranged in a row. In the figure, the left piezoelectric element 117 and the vibrating plate 112 are bent, and the ink 118 is ejected from the nozzle hole 121 in the direction of the arrow 119 . In addition, as can be seen from the figure, one pressure chamber 113 and piezoelectric element 117 are assigned to each nozzle hole, but the ink flow path 115 for supplying ink is common to a plurality of nozzle holes, and the ink passes through the flow path opened in each pressure chamber. 113 on the ink supply line 114 supply. Fig. 11C is a plan view from the top of the nozzle plate. In this example, the interval is about 340 μm wide, and 40 nozzle holes 121 are arranged in a row of left and right, and there are two rows of upper and lower rows. In the figure, a line 120 surrounding each nozzle is in the shape of a piezoelectric element located on the nozzle plate side, and a dotted line 124 shows the shape of an ink flow path. Since ink is supplied from one ink channel to the 40 nozzle holes arranged on the left and right, ink of the same color is ejected from the left and right 40 nozzle holes. 122 represents the feeding direction of the substrate, and 123 represents a state in which nozzles are arranged in two rows.

A representative example of using an inkjet printer as an electronic device manufacturing device is shown below. There is an example in which a metal colloid is drawn on a printed board by an inkjet method to form a wiring pattern of conductive wires on the printed board (Non-Patent Document 1 below). Usually, in order to form a conductive circuit pattern on a printed substrate, a conductive circuit pattern is formed by photolithography after forming a metal film on the substrate in advance, or a negative pattern of the circuit is formed on the substrate with a resist film and then deposited by plating. A method in which a wiring circuit pattern is formed in a region where no resist is present after formation, and then the resist is removed. An advantage of using the inkjet method is that a circuit can be directly formed on a printed circuit board without going through a laborious photolithography process. Therefore, the time for circuit formation becomes short, and the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, since photolithography requires a photomask (plate) corresponding to the circuit to be manufactured, it is necessary to manufacture a large number of photomasks when producing a small number of circuits of various types or trial production of various circuits. Membrane, time and cost increase. On the other hand, since the inkjet method does not require a photomask, it is suitable for the production of circuits with small quantities and various types, and the trial production of circuits.

In addition, there are field-effect transistors formed by drawing functional organic molecules on a substrate by an inkjet method (non-patented document 2 below), a display using electroluminescence (non-patented document 3 below), and a microlens array (under-patented document 3). Describe the examples of non-patented documents 4) and the like. If the functional organic molecular thin film formed on the substrate is exposed to a resist developer or stripper, it tends to be peeled off from the substrate or its electrical properties deteriorate, making it difficult to form a pattern through the usual photolithography process. Since the inkjet method can easily form patterns without deteriorating the properties of functional organic molecules, it is promising as a method for manufacturing electronic devices using organic molecules.

In addition, in recent years, DNA chips are widely used as a mechanism for detecting a person's constitution, diagnosis of a disease, mode of action of a drug, and the like based on the level of a genetic factor. The so-called DNA chip is to immobilize thousands to tens of thousands of DNA fragments or synthetic oligonucleotides (hereinafter referred to as "DNA probes") on predetermined positions on glass substrates or silicon substrates with four sides of several centimeters. It is used for the purpose of simultaneously measuring the discovery status of many genetic factors or detecting the presence or absence of a specific genetic factor. A method of fabricating the DNA chip by the inkjet method is proposed. That is, a DNA chip can be formed simply and at low cost by arranging a liquid in which a DNA probe is dissolved at a predetermined position on a substrate by an inkjet method (Patent Document 1 below).

In order to manufacture electronic devices and DNA chips by the inkjet method, it is necessary to accurately arrange the liquid on a predetermined position on the substrate. Generally, the initial positions of the inkjet head and the substrate are set in advance, and the liquid is disposed on a predetermined position on the substrate by discharging liquid droplets while shifting the relative position between the head and the substrate by a predetermined amount. This method can accurately draw the pattern of the droplet to be drawn if it is about several hundreds of μm. However, since the initial position or movement amount of the inkjet head and the substrate is affected by the fixing method of the substrate and the thermal expansion of the substrate caused by temperature changes, it is in the range of μm (discrete), so the above method is used to draw μm～ Patterns of tens of μm are difficult.

In addition, in liquid ejection using an inkjet head, although it rarely occurs, there are cases where nozzle holes are clogged and liquid cannot be ejected. In order to manufacture electronic devices and DNA chips with high reproducibility, it is also important to detect whether droplets are accurately discharged.

Patent Document 2 below proposes a measuring point device capable of immobilizing a reaction substance at a specific position of a detection unit. According to this patent, the position of the substrate is recognized by a vision camera installed obliquely above the substrate on which the droplets are placed, and the droplets are correctly placed on the substrate.

In addition, the following Patent Document 3 proposes a DNA probe solution discharge device including an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles for discharging a DNA probe solution, and a mechanism for causing the head to emit a driving signal for discharging liquid from a predetermined nozzle. , characterized by comprising a light projecting mechanism for projecting light onto the solution ejected from the nozzle and a light receiving mechanism for receiving light from the light projecting mechanism. The direction of the emitted light is parallel to the discharge surface of the inkjet head, and by receiving the light reflected by the liquid discharged from the head, it is detected whether the solution is discharged normally.

In addition, Patent Document 4 below proposes a method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence display device having a structure in which when an organic layer is formed on a pixel on a substrate by discharging a liquid-phase organic material by an inkjet method, (a) Form an image recognition pattern on the substrate, (b) obtain the position information of the substrate or pixel by recognizing the above image recognition pattern by the image recognition device, (c) control the inkjet head and the substrate or pixel according to the position information of the substrate or pixel The matching of the position and the timing of ejecting the liquid-phase organic material. This document discloses a method in which an image recognition device is fixedly arranged on the back side of a substrate with respect to an inkjet head, and recognizes an image recognition pattern through a transparent or translucent substrate. In this conventional example, there is no disclosure about the illumination light required for recognizing the arrangement position of the image recognition device with respect to the substrate or the image.

According to the research results of the present inventors so far, it has been found that in order to arrange a fine droplet pattern of several hundred μm or less, it is necessary to set the distance between the discharge port and the substrate to be 1 mm or less. This is because, if the distance is large, the flying direction of the liquid is changed due to the influence of air convection while the liquid discharged from the discharge port adheres to the substrate. Furthermore, if the interval is large, there are cases where fine liquid droplets evaporate before attaching to the substrate.

In the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the visual camera is arranged obliquely above the substrate, if the distance between the discharge port and the substrate is 1 mm or less, the position of the substrate directly below the discharge port cannot be seen. In particular, in the case of an inkjet head in which discharge ports are arranged at a high density on the nozzle plate, the position of the substrate directly below the nozzle hole near the center of the nozzle plate cannot be detected by a visual camera because it is behind the end of the nozzle plate.

Similarly, in the device disclosed in Patent Document 3, since it is necessary to irradiate the head with parallel light, if the distance between the head and the substrate is shortened, it becomes difficult for light to enter between them.

In Patent Document 4, since the visual camera is arranged on the back side of the substrate relative to the inkjet head, even if the distance between the inkjet head and the substrate is reduced, it is possible to observe the region of the substrate where droplets are to be placed. In order to recognize the position of the inkjet head or the substrate with a visual camera, it is necessary to irradiate light on the inkjet head or the substrate with a light source, and make the light reflected therefrom enter the visual camera. The configuration of the light source has not been made public. Generally, a method of placing a light source between the vision camera and the substrate is used. However, in this method, in order to arrange the light source, the distance between the substrate and the visual camera needs to be slightly separated. The optical system, so the overall size of the device becomes larger. Therefore, the position of the vision camera has to be fixed. In Patent Document 3, the visual camera is also fixed. When only one of the substrate or the inkjet head moves, the relative positional relationship between the substrate and the inkjet head can be easily derived by an arithmetic processing circuit based on information obtained from the visual camera. On the other hand, in order to mass-produce electronic devices by the inkjet method, it is necessary to increase the speed of liquid droplet placement, so it is necessary to simultaneously move the inkjet head and the substrate while simultaneously discharging liquid droplets from a plurality of nozzle holes. In this case, since the relative positional relationship between the visual camera and the substrate, and the visual camera and the plurality of nozzle holes is changing every moment, in order to derive the relative positional relationship between the substrate and the inkjet head, the calculation processing circuit becomes large. scale. As a result of these, the liquid droplet arrangement device of Patent Document 4 has the problem that the optical system and the arithmetic processing circuit become large-scale, and the price of the device also becomes high.

Patent Document 1: Specification of US Patent No. 5,658,802

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-98172

Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-253200

Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-284047

Non-Patented Literature 1: G.G. Rozenberg, Applied Physics Letter, Volume 81, 2002, P5249-5251

Non-patented literature 2: H. Sirringhaus et al., Science, 2000, Vol. 290, P2123-2126

Non-patented literature 3: J. Bharathan et al., Applied Physics Letter, Volume 72, 1998, P2660-2662

Non-Patented Literature 4: T.R. Hebner et al., Applied Physics Letter, Volume 72, 1998, P519-521

Contents of the invention

The present invention provides a liquid drop arrangement device capable of accurately adjusting the relative position between the ink jet head and the base material and observing the discharge state of the liquid droplets even if the distance between the ink jet head and the substrate is short. Methods are also provided for properly disposing droplets on a substrate.

The droplet arrangement device of the present invention has: an inkjet head; a substrate for receiving liquid droplets ejected from the above-mentioned inkjet head; a device for irradiating or reflecting light from the nozzle hole of the above-mentioned inkjet head or its periphery to the above-mentioned substrate; positional movement A device for controlling the relative position of the above-mentioned inkjet head and the above-mentioned substrate; a control device for discharging the liquid from the above-mentioned inkjet head; wherein, the light receiving element for recognizing the position of the above-mentioned inkjet head is arranged on the above-mentioned surface viewed from the above-mentioned inkjet head The rear of the substrate; the substrate has transparency to the extent that irradiated light or reflected light from the nozzle hole or its periphery to the substrate enters the light-receiving element; the light-receiving element detects the irradiation from the nozzle hole or its periphery to the substrate light or reflected light.

The liquid drop arrangement method of the present invention is a method of discharging liquid from an inkjet head to arrange the above-mentioned liquid on the surface of the above-mentioned substrate. Arranged between the above-mentioned inkjet head and the above-mentioned light-receiving element, the position of the above-mentioned inkjet head is measured by the above-mentioned light-receiving element before the liquid is ejected, and the relative position of the above-mentioned inkjet head and the above-mentioned substrate is determined according to the measured information, and the above-mentioned The liquid is arranged on the above-mentioned substrate.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a droplet arrangement device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

2 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the substrate and the light receiving element of the droplet disposing device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

3A is a schematic diagram showing a droplet arrangement device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a bottom view of the inkjet head shown in FIG. 3A .

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a droplet arrangement device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a droplet arrangement device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an inkjet head according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

7 is a schematic diagram showing how light emitted from nozzle holes of the inkjet head according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention is received by the photosensor.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a droplet arrangement device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

9 is a schematic diagram showing details of a light reflection unit and a light receiving element of the droplet disposition device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the whole of a conventional inkjet head.

11A to 11C are schematic diagrams showing conventionally used inkjet heads used in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 11A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the inkjet head near the nozzle holes. FIG. A schematic perspective view cut along line I-I, FIG. 11C is a schematic view of the inkjet head viewed from the nozzle plate side.

Detailed ways

The droplet arrangement device of the present invention includes a light receiving element that is present behind the substrate when viewed from the inkjet head, and recognizes a position of the inkjet head. In addition, the substrate has at least transparency to such an extent that light irradiated or reflected from the nozzle hole of the inkjet head or its periphery toward the substrate enters the light receiving element. Although the higher the transparency, the more preferable, there is no problem with translucency. Any transparency may be used as long as the light receiving element can detect the irradiated light or reflected light from the nozzle hole or its periphery to the substrate. As the substrate, a glass substrate, or a transparent resin such as a polyester substrate, an acrylic resin substrate, or a polyene substrate is preferably used.

The substrate may also be fixed on a separately provided fixing table. Preferably, the light receiving element also moves integrally with the fixed table when the fixed table moves.

In addition, in this droplet arrangement device, preferably, a light translucent reflection plate is provided between the fixed table and the light receiving element, and the light source is arranged so that light parallel to the surface of the substrate is incident on the reflection plate. Adjusting the arrangement of the reflection plate so that part of the incident light is reflected toward the inkjet head, and part of the light reflected from the inkjet head is transmitted to the light receiving element side.

In the droplet arrangement device of the present invention, it is preferable that the inkjet head includes a nozzle hole for discharging the liquid, a pressure chamber for generating pressure to discharge the liquid from the nozzle, a flow path for supplying the liquid to the pressure chamber, and a reservoir. A container for the above-mentioned liquid, and a tube for delivering the above-mentioned liquid from the above-mentioned container to the above-mentioned flow path; in the above-mentioned ink jet head, the surface that the above-mentioned liquid contacts is made of a material that reflects light, and has The structure inside the container.

The method of disposing liquid droplets on the substrate of the present invention is a method of disposing the liquid on the surface of the above-mentioned substrate by discharging the liquid from the inkjet head, disposing the light receiving element on the liquid discharge side of the above-mentioned inkjet head, and then The substrate is arranged between the above-mentioned inkjet head and the above-mentioned light-receiving element, and the position of the above-mentioned inkjet head is measured by the above-mentioned light-receiving element before the liquid is ejected, and the relative position of the above-mentioned inkjet head and the above-mentioned substrate is determined according to the measured information, and the The liquid is disposed on the substrate.

According to the liquid droplet moving device of the present invention, electronic devices and high-density DNA chips can be accurately manufactured. Furthermore, since the calculation circuit for deriving the relative position of the optical system or the inkjet head and the substrate is sufficient, it is sufficient to reduce the size and cost of the device.

(Embodiment 1)

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the droplet arrangement device of the present invention. The liquid droplets 2 are ejected from the inkjet head 1 toward the substrate 13 as indicated by arrow 3 , and the liquid droplets 2 are arranged at predetermined positions on the fixed substrate 13 . The inkjet head 1 is fixed on a carriage 4 , and the carriage 4 moves in the X-axis direction along a carriage shaft 5 . The discharge control circuit 9 controls the timing at which the liquid droplet 2 is discharged from the inkjet head 1 , the size of the liquid droplet 2 , the initial velocity, and the number of the liquid droplet 2 discharged per second. The substrate 13 is disposed directly above the light receiving element 6 , and the substrate 13 and the light receiving element 6 move integrally along the Y-axis direction under the action of the moving stage 7 that moves along the carriage shaft 8 . The substrate 13 is preferably a light-transmitting material. The carriage shaft 8 and the moving platform 7 move while being controlled by the position control circuit 10 respectively. Information on the intensity and incident position of light incident on the light receiving element 6 is input through the light receiving element signal processing circuit 11 .

As shown in FIG. 2 described later, since there is a mechanism in which the light radiated from the nozzle hole and its periphery that discharges liquid droplets enters the light receiving element, the inkjet head 1 and the light receiving element 6 shown in FIG. 1 can be seen using this light. and the positional relationship between the substrate 13 and the light receiving element 6 . Furthermore, the positional relationship between the inkjet head and the substrate can be known from these two pieces of information. In this embodiment, since there is a mechanism for emitting light from the nozzle hole and its periphery to the light receiving element, there is no need to provide a large gap between the light receiving element 6 and the substrate 13 for placing the light source, and the size of the substrate can be reduced. 13 and the light-receiving element 6, no longer need a large-scale optical system. Therefore, the board|substrate 13 and the light receiving element 6 can be moved integrally. As a result, even if the inkjet head 1 and the substrate 13 move simultaneously, the relative positional relationship between the two can be derived with a simple arithmetic circuit.

The position control circuit 10 , the light receiving element signal processing circuit 11 , and the discharge control circuit 9 are collectively controlled by a computer 12 . As a result, the positional relationship between the inkjet head 1 and the substrate 13 is detected by the light receiving element 6, and based on the information, the inkjet head 1 and the substrate 13 are moved to a predetermined position, and the liquid droplets 2 can be accurately ejected. Arranged at predetermined positions on the substrate 13 . Moreover, since the liquid droplet 2 discharged from the nozzle hole can be observed by the light receiving element 6, the discharge state of the liquid droplet 2 can be detected.

The light-receiving element 6 in the present invention refers to a member in which light-receiving photosensors are arranged on a two-dimensional plane, and the intensity of light incident on each sensor is measured. Typical light-receiving elements include a charge-coupled device (CCD) type imaging element and a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) type imaging element.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating in detail only part of the substrate 13 and the light receiving element 6 of the droplet arrangement device of FIG. 1 . The photosensors 16 are held by the photosensor support portion 17 and arranged in a grid in a plane. When light is incident on each photosensor 16 , light energy is converted into electron energy in the photosensor 16 to generate an electric current. The current generated in each element is input to the light-receiving element signal processing circuit 18 to be amplified and processed. The light-receiving element signal processing circuit 18 externally outputs information on the position and intensity of the photosensor 16 that receives light as an electrical signal. The information of the light incident on the optical sensor 16 (light receiving element) can be obtained by performing arithmetic processing on the output electric signal by the computer 19 . If the objective lens 20 is arranged on the top of the photosensor 16, the distance between the two is adjusted, and the center of the image of the inkjet head on the photosensor 16 top is aligned on the photosensor, then the relationship between the inkjet head and each photosensor 16 can be derived. Positional relationship. If the positions of the substrate 14 and the photosensor 16 (light-receiving element) are determined in advance, and the positional relationship between the nozzle hole of the inkjet head and the photosensor 16 (light-receiving element) is also determined, the positional relationship between the nozzle hole and the substrate is known, so it can be seen that The position of the substrate from which the droplet is to be ejected. 15 represents the whole light receiving element.

Even if the positions of the substrate and the light receiving element are not strictly determined in advance, the positional relationship between the inkjet head and the substrate can be detected by the following method. That is, after aligning the center of the nozzle hole image of the inkjet head on the optical sensor to derive the positional relationship between the nozzle hole and the imaging element, similarly align the center of the image of the substrate on the imaging element to derive the relationship between the substrate and the imaging element. location relationship. Based on these two pieces of information, the positional relationship between the nozzle hole and the substrate can be derived.

(Embodiment 2)

Embodiment 2 shows a method of radiating light from the nozzle hole or the periphery of the nozzle of the inkjet head. That is, in Embodiment 1, a light translucent reflection plate is provided between the above-mentioned fixed table and the above-mentioned light receiving element, and a light source is arranged on the surface of the substrate fixed on the above-mentioned fixed table so that parallel light is incident on the above-mentioned light source. In the reflection plate, the arrangement of the reflection plate is adjusted so that part of the incident light is reflected toward the inkjet head and part of the light emitted from the inkjet head is transmitted to the light receiving element side.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram showing an example of this embodiment. Immediately below the transparent substrate 23 is provided an optical unit 27 having a reflection plate 28 inside. Reflecting plate 28 is semitransparent to light, and incident light 24 entering parallel to the surface of substrate 23 is reflected by reflecting plate 28 to become reflected light 25 toward inkjet head 21 . The reflected light 25 is reflected by the nozzle plate 33 and the substrate 23 to become reflected light 26 , passes through the reflector 28 , passes through the objective lens 30 , and forms an image of the nozzle plate 33 and the substrate 23 by the optical sensor 31 . 32 denotes a photosensor support portion, and 29 denotes the entire light receiving element.

FIG. 3B is a bottom view of the inkjet head 21 of FIG. 3A , showing a nozzle plate 33 having a plurality of nozzle holes 22 .

(Embodiment 3)

Embodiment 3 shows another method of radiating light from a nozzle hole and its periphery to a light receiving element. That is, Embodiment 3 provides an inkjet head having a mechanism for radiating light from a nozzle hole to a substrate. The inkjet head is composed of a nozzle hole for discharging liquid, a pressure chamber for generating pressure for discharging the liquid from the nozzle, a flow path for supplying the liquid to the pressure chamber, a container for storing the liquid, and a container for transporting the liquid from the container. In the above-mentioned inkjet head, the surface that the above-mentioned liquid contacts is made of a light-reflecting material, and there is a structure in which a light source is incident in the above-mentioned container.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an example of a droplet arrangement device using the inkjet head shown in this embodiment. The transparent substrate 36 is irradiated with light 35 from the nozzle holes of the inkjet head 34 . The irradiated light 35 enters the photosensor 39 through the objective lens 38, so the positional relationship between the nozzle hole and the light receiving element can be derived. In addition, when the light is irradiated onto the substrate 36 , the position information of the substrate 36 can also be derived by the optical sensor (light receiving element) 39 . 40 denotes a photosensor support portion, and 37 denotes the entire light receiving element.

FIG. 5 shows another example of detecting the positions of the inkjet head 41 and the substrate 43 by emitting light 42 from the nozzles of the inkjet head 41 . Basically the same as Figure 4, but in this case features no objective lens. By making the distance between the optical sensor 45 and the inkjet head 41 close, the position of the nozzle hole can be detected even without an objective lens. 46 denotes a photosensor support portion, and 44 denotes the entire light receiving element.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram specifically showing the structure of the inkjet head 51 used in this embodiment. The inner walls of the nozzle holes 55 formed in the nozzle plate 54 , the inner walls of the pressure chamber 56 , the inner walls of the ink flow path 57 , the inner walls of the tube 59 , and the inner walls of the liquid storage container 61 are made of light-reflecting material. In order to make each inner wall such a material, a metal with a high light reflectance may be vapor-deposited or plated on each inner wall. The metals used are aluminum, platinum, gold and the like. If the light source 62 is installed in the liquid storage container 61 to emit light, the light 60 emitted from the light source is reflected by the inner walls of the tube 59, the inner wall of the ink flow path 57, the inner wall of the pressure chamber 56, and the inner wall of the nozzle hole 55, and finally becomes The emitted light 63 is emitted outward from the nozzle hole 55 . The light source 62 does not have to be installed in the liquid storage container 61, for example, it can also be installed outside the container, and the light is introduced into the container through an optical fiber. 52 is a piezoelectric element, 53 is a vibrating plate, and 58 is a supply port.

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the shape of the light beam emitted from the nozzle hole 64 . When the shape of the nozzle hole 64 passing through the nozzle plate 63 is symmetrical with respect to the central axis passing through the center of the nozzle hole 64 , the light beam 65 emitted from the nozzle hole 64 is symmetrical with respect to the central axis of the nozzle hole 64 . Therefore, when the light beam 65 is projected onto the aggregate surface of the optical sensor 67 , it becomes a circular light spot 66 . Since the center point directly above the circular spot 66 coincides with the center portion of the nozzle hole 64 , the center position of the nozzle hole 64 can be detected.

Specific examples of the present invention will be described below. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the following

Example.

(Example 1)

Using a droplet placement device, a liquid was placed in a circle with a diameter of 50 μm at intervals of 100 μm on a glass substrate having a size of 10 mm in length, 10 mm in width, and 0.2 mm in thickness. The details are shown below.

(1) Manufacturing method of substrate

A plate-shaped quartz glass substrate having a size of 10 mm in length, 10 mm in width, and 0.2 mm in thickness was ultrasonically cleaned with a neutral detergent and then washed with pure water. After blowing this glass substrate with nitrogen gas and drying it, it irradiated ultraviolet-ray in the ozone atmosphere gas of 110 degreeC, and the organic substance which remained on the glass substrate surface was removed. Then, a chrome alignment mask (alignment mask) was formed on the four corners of the glass substrate by a normal photolithography method. Align the mask to form 2 long 100μm, wide 10

Rectangles of μm form a cross shape intersecting at right angles. Next, a pattern of a positive resist film was formed on the glass substrate. This pattern is formed by arranging circular resist films with a diameter of 50 μm in a grid pattern at intervals of 100 μm. The positional relationship between the alignment mask formed on the four corners of the glass substrate and the circle was set to a predetermined value. That is, if the positions of the alignment masks at the four corners are known, the positions of the predetermined circles can be accurately known.

Next, in a spherical box filled with dry nitrogen, the glass substrate was immersed in a mixture of n-hexadecane and chloroform in which 1 vol% of hexadecafluoroethyltrichlorosilane (hereinafter referred to as "FACS") was dissolved. Mixed solution (volume ratio 8:2) for 1 hour. Then, this glass substrate was washed with toluene. As a result, FACS adsorbed on the areas without resist.

Next, the treated glass substrate was taken out from the glove box, immersed in acetone, and the resist film on the glass substrate was removed. Since FACS adsorbed on the glass substrate was not removed by immersion in acetone, only the region where the resist was removed was hydrophilic. As a result, hydrophilic regions, that is, circles with a diameter of 50 μm were arranged at intervals of 100 μm, and the areas outside the hydrophilic regions were hydrophobic, thereby forming a hydrophilic/hydrophobic pattern. In addition, the static contact angles with respect to pure water of the hydrophobic region and the hydrophilic region were 5 degrees and 130 degrees, respectively.

(2) Light sensor

As an optical sensor, a charge-coupled device (CCD) manufactured by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. was used. The specifications are as follows.

·Number of sensors: 30,000

・Dimensions occupied by one optical sensor and its peripheral part: length 60 μm, width 60 μm

The dimensions occupied by all sensors are: length 15mm, width 15mm

(3) Inkjet head

A general inkjet head shown in FIGS. 11A to 11B was used. The vibrating plate is copper with a thickness of 3 μm, and the piezoelectric element is lead zirconate titanate (PZT) with a thickness of 3 μm. PZT is formed by vacuum sputtering, and is (001) oriented in the vertical direction of the film. The nozzle plate is treated with water repellency. The nozzle hole has a diameter of 20 μm and is formed by electrical discharge machining. In addition, as shown in FIG. 11C , the number of nozzles ejecting ink of the same color is 40, which are arranged at intervals of 340 μm left and right. In addition, 5 rows of 40 nozzles are arranged up and down at intervals of 170 μm. The total number of nozzle holes was 200. In this embodiment, liquid is discharged using only one nozzle hole. The discharge of the liquid was performed by applying a voltage with a frequency of 10 KHz and an amplitude of 20 V between the piezoelectric elements. The drop size is 20 picoliters (approx. 16.8 μm radius). A prescribed liquid is filled in the inkjet head instead of ink.

(4) Droplet configuration device

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of the droplet disposing device of this embodiment, which is the same as the droplet disposing device shown in FIG. 1 except that a light reflection unit 73 and a light source 83 are added. A light receiving element 74 , a light reflection unit 73 , and a glass substrate 72 are sequentially provided on the moving stage 75 , and the moving stage 75 moves in the Y-axis direction along the carriage shaft 76 . The inkjet head 71 moves in the X-axis direction on the carriage shaft 78 together with the carriage 77 . The distance between the nozzle plate of the inkjet head 71 and the glass substrate 72 was set to 0.3 mm. Furthermore, incident light 84 parallel to the in-plane of the glass substrate 72 is introduced from the light source 83 into the light reflection unit 73 . In this embodiment, a halogen lamp is used as the light source. 79 is a light receiving element signal processing circuit, 80 is a position control circuit, 81 is a discharge control circuit, and 82 is a computer.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating in detail the structure of a light receiving element and a light reflection unit. The light reflection unit 91 is provided with a reflection portion 92 that reflects light. The reflecting plate 92 is semitransparent to light, reflects a part of the incident light 93 parallel to the surface of the glass substrate to become reflected light 94 , and transmits a part of the light as it is. The reflected light 94 reaches the nozzle plate (not shown) of the inkjet head (not shown) through the glass substrate (not shown) provided on the upper part, becomes reflected light, and returns to the reflector plate again. Part of this light enters the light receiving element 97 . The light receiving element 97 is constituted by a CCD which is an aggregate of photosensors 96, and an objective lens 95 provided on top of it. The distance between the objective lens 95 and the CCD is controlled by an electromagnetic motor.

(5) The liquid placed on the glass substrate

Dissolve a 10-base single-stranded oligonucleotide (manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.) whose end is fluorescently labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) at 20 wt % in pure water. Insert it into the In the ink chamber of the ink head.

(6) Method of placing liquid on glass substrate

The arrangement method of the liquid is shown using FIG. 8 . After the incident light 84 is incident into the light reflection unit 73 from the light source 83, adjust the distance between the objective lens (95 in FIG. superior. As a result, the positional relationship between the alignment mask and the CCD element can be derived. Similarly, the objective lens is moved so that the center of the image of the nozzle hole on the nozzle plate that discharges the liquid falls on the CCD element, and the positional relationship between the nozzle hole and the CCD element is derived. From these measurements, the positional relationship between each hydrophilic region and the nozzle hole on the glass substrate 72 can be derived. Next, the positions of the inkjet head 71 and the glass substrate 72 are moved so that the nozzle hole for discharging the liquid is directly above the hydrophilic region on the glass substrate 72 where the liquid is to be placed. Next, liquid droplets are ejected from the inkjet head 71 by the control circuit 81 . Similarly, the inkjet head 71 is moved to arrange the liquid on the next hydrophilic region. These operations are repeated to place the liquid on all the hydrophilic regions on the glass substrate 72 .

The distribution of liquid droplets from the inkjet head 71 on the substrate can be observed on-site using the light receiving element, the light receiving element signal processing circuit 79 , and the computer 82 . That is, by aligning the center (focal point) with the image of the nozzle hole, it is possible to observe the state of the liquid being discharged from the nozzle hole. As a result, it was found that discharge and non-discharge of the liquid from the nozzle hole could be observed on the spot.

(7) Evaluation methods and results of prepared liquids

Since the oligonucleotides placed on the glass substrate are labeled with fluorescent substances, the shape of the placed droplets can be evaluated by observing the fluorescence with a light microscope. Laser light with a wavelength of 400 nm was irradiated on the glass substrate, and fluorescence at 520 nm was observed.

As a result, it was confirmed that fluorescence was emitted from a region within a circle with a diameter of 50 μm arranged at intervals of 100 μm.

(Example 2)

Droplets were arranged in the same manner as in Example 1. Among them, the inkjet head is as follows.

(1) inkjet head

An inkjet head having the structure shown in FIG. 6 of the third embodiment is used. Use a halogen lamp as the light source. In addition, the inner wall of the head adopts the inner wall of vacuum-evaporated aluminum.

(2) Method of placing liquid on glass substrate

Adjust the distance between the objective lens and the imaging element so that the center of the nozzle hole that emits light coincides with the surface of the CCD element, and derive the positional relationship between the nozzle hole and the imaging element. Next, the inkjet head, the substrate, and the imaging device are moved so that the light emitted from the nozzle holes falls on the alignment mask on the substrate. In addition, the substrate moves integrally with the imaging element. Next, the center of the image of the alignment mask on the substrate is aligned with the CCD element, and the positional relationship between the alignment mask and the imaging element is derived. Based on these two positional relationships, the positional relationship between the nozzle hole and the substrate is derived. Then, based on this information, droplets are placed in hydrophilic regions on the substrate.

(3) Evaluation methods and results of prepared liquids

The liquid droplets arranged on the glass substrate were evaluated by the same method as in the examples. As a result, it was confirmed that, as in Example 1, fluorescence was emitted from a region within a circle with a diameter of 50 μm, and the regions were arranged at intervals of 100 μm.

(Example 3)

Droplets were placed on the glass substrate in the same manner as in Example 2. Wherein, the objective lens is removed from the imaging element. And, the CCD element was brought into contact with the glass substrate.

Similar to Example 2, the relative positions of the nozzle holes and the substrate were derived, and the droplets were arranged at predetermined positions. As a result, similarly to Example 2, it was confirmed that the droplets were correctly arranged at predetermined positions.

Industrial Applicability

Since the present invention can arrange microscopic liquid droplets on the substrate with high precision, it is possible to form microscopic liquid droplet patterns on the substrate with high precision. By making the discharged droplets into DNA probes, proteins, semiconductor materials, lens materials, and metal materials, semiconductor elements such as DNA chips, biochips, and thin film transistors, lenses, and wiring can be formed. Therefore, according to the present invention, DNA chips, biochips, electronic components, and the like can be realized.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the piezoelectric element is used as the pressure generating mechanism of the inkjet head, but it is not necessary to be limited to this, and a method (bubble jet (registered trademark) method) of generating bubbles instantaneously by the action of heat may also be used. ).

Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, liquid droplets are ejected from only one nozzle hole, but liquid droplets may be ejected from a plurality of nozzle holes at the same time.

Claims (14)

1, a kind of droplet configuration device is characterized in that,

Have: ink gun; Substrate is accepted the drop that spues from above-mentioned ink gun; Shine or catoptrical device to aforesaid substrate from nozzle bore or its periphery of above-mentioned ink gun; Location mobile device is controlled the relative position of above-mentioned ink gun and aforesaid substrate; Control device will spue from the liquid of above-mentioned ink gun;

The photo detector of discerning the position of above-mentioned ink gun is configured in from the rear of the aforesaid substrate of above-mentioned ink gun observation;

Aforesaid substrate has to be made from the said nozzle hole or the transparency of the degree that its periphery enters into photo detector to the irradiates light or the reverberation of aforesaid substrate;

Above-mentioned photo detector detect from the said nozzle hole or its periphery to the irradiates light or the reverberation of aforesaid substrate.

2, droplet configuration device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, also has the mechanism that above-mentioned photo detector is also moved with the aforesaid substrate one.

3, droplet configuration device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that,

Between aforesaid substrate and above-mentioned photo detector, place the translucent reflecting plate of light;

Setting makes the light parallel with the face of aforesaid substrate incide light source on the said reflection plate;

Adjust the configuration said reflection plate, be transmitted to above-mentioned photo detector side so that the part of above-mentioned incident light to the direction reflection of above-mentioned ink gun, makes from the part of the light of above-mentioned ink gun reflection.

4, droplet configuration device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, above-mentioned ink gun has in the nozzle bore of the liquid that spues the mechanism to the aforesaid substrate irradiates light.

5, droplet configuration device as claimed in claim 4 is characterized in that,

In the said nozzle hole to the mechanism of aforesaid substrate irradiates light have the said nozzle hole, for aforesaid liquid from nozzle spue and produce pressure the balancing gate pit, to above-mentioned balancing gate pit supply with aforesaid liquid stream, store the container of aforesaid liquid and be used for aforesaid liquid is transported to from said vesse the pipe of above-mentioned stream;

The surface of aforesaid liquid contact is made of catoptrical material, and incides light source in the said vesse and be directed to the said nozzle hole.

6, droplet configuration device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, aforesaid substrate is glass or resin.

7, droplet configuration device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, above-mentioned ink gun be by the vibration of using piezoelectric element spue liquid head or produce the head of the liquid that spues by the bubble that heat effect brings.

8, a kind of droplet configuration method spues liquid and aforesaid liquid is configured on the aforesaid substrate surface from ink gun, it is characterized in that,

Photo detector is configured in the liquid exhaust end of above-mentioned ink gun, again aforesaid substrate is configured between above-mentioned ink gun and the above-mentioned photo detector, before the aforesaid liquid that spues, measure the position of above-mentioned ink gun by above-mentioned photo detector, determine the relative position of above-mentioned ink gun and aforesaid substrate aforesaid liquid to be configured on the aforesaid substrate according to above-mentioned measured information.

9, droplet configuration method as claimed in claim 8 is characterized in that, also has the mechanism that above-mentioned photo detector is also moved with the aforesaid substrate one.

10, droplet configuration method as claimed in claim 8 is characterized in that,

Between aforesaid substrate and above-mentioned photo detector, place the translucent reflecting plate of light;

Setting makes the light parallel with the face of aforesaid substrate incide light source on the said reflection plate;

Adjust the configuration said reflection plate, be transmitted to above-mentioned photo detector side so that the part of above-mentioned incident light to the direction reflection of above-mentioned ink gun, makes from the part of the light of above-mentioned ink gun reflection.

11, droplet configuration method as claimed in claim 8 is characterized in that, above-mentioned ink gun has in the nozzle bore of the liquid that spues the mechanism to the aforesaid substrate irradiates light.

12, droplet configuration method as claimed in claim 11 is characterized in that,

In the said nozzle hole to the mechanism of aforesaid substrate irradiates light have the said nozzle hole, for aforesaid liquid from nozzle spue and produce pressure the balancing gate pit, to above-mentioned balancing gate pit supply with aforesaid liquid stream, store the container of aforesaid liquid and be used for aforesaid liquid is transported to from said vesse the pipe of above-mentioned stream;

The surface of aforesaid liquid contact is made of catoptrical material, and incides light source in the said vesse and be directed to the said nozzle hole.

13, droplet configuration method as claimed in claim 8 is characterized in that, aforesaid substrate is glass or resin.

14, droplet configuration method as claimed in claim 8 is characterized in that, above-mentioned ink gun be by the vibration of using piezoelectric element spue liquid head or produce the head of the liquid that spues by the bubble that heat effect brings.

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